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We stand for freedom of peoples and for repul)licau government, for free 
institutions and national honor, and in the trying days that are upon us the 
American people, having a just knowledge of their responsibility and a full ap- 
preciation of their duties, -will have but one watchword: "Kemember humanity; 
remember the Maine." And to this they will add the fervent and coufldeut 
prayer, "ilay God speed the right." 



SPEECH 



HON. CLARENCE D. CLARK, 



OF" WYOMIXG. 



SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 

SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1893. 



^V^SiII]SrGTON". 
1898. 



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68002 






SPEECH 

OF 

HON. CLARENCE D. CLARK. 



The Senate having under consideration the joint resolution ( S. R.. 149) f or 
the rlcolnttfon of the independence of the people of Cuba, demanding that 
the Govlrnment of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the 
Island of cX and to withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and 
Ouban waters and direcing the President of the United States to use, the 
l^nd anTnlval Forcerof thl United States to carry those resolutions into 
effect- 
Mr. CLARK said: , ,. J , 
Mr President: A vote on the pending resolution and amend- 
ment's will be taken at the close of this day's legislative session. 
I wish it could come now. I have no pride that would cause 
me to address the Senate or country if by remaining silent the 
action of the Senate would be hastened by a single moment. 
Even if I had the graces of oratory of other Senators m this 
Chamber, if my silence would hasten final action by one time 
beat of the clock, iron bars could not unseal my lips; tor I know, 
as every Senator here knows, that while we are talking m the 
Senate of the United States, men, women, and children are dying 
of starvation in Cuba, the victims of a warfare the most cruel, 
inhuman, and barbarous of modern times; but knowing as I do 
that my silence will have no effect to produce quicker action, and 
aware of the fact that my speaking to this resolution will be pro- 
ductive of no delay in action, I feel it my privilege and duty to 
give my views in general terms and in few words upon the pena- 

"^flr^ President, with due deference to the conservative warning 
of the senior Senator from Connecticut, and with complete re- 
spect for the legal doubts of the Senator trom California, 1 have 
still no fear or hesitation in regard to the vote which I shall give 
upon these resolutions, nor do I care much for the text ot the res- 
olution. Whatever form of expression is agreed upon, the result 
is the same-war, swift and sure, and war with the most diplo- 
matic, the most deceitful, and the most cruel of all the Christian 
nations of the earth, a nation that for three hundred years, be- 
cause of its deceit and cruelty, has seen its power fade and its pos- 
sessions diminish, until from the time of the niagnihcent power ot 
Charles and the cruel inhumanities of Alva it has been reduced to 
the feeble Government of the present and the savage barbarism 
of Wevler. Even in the face of the certainty of a contest with a 
nation that has accumulated only vices with its yeai's, and trom 
which we may expect in course of war to receive only deceit and 
treachery and the methods of war used by a nation of such chai- 
acteristics, still, Mr. President, this Senate and this nation should 
not hesitate, nor will they. 



3243 



The report of the Comruittee on Foreitrn Relations, prepared by 
the eminent chairman of that committee, replete with historical 
precedents and the legal learning for which he is so justly d.stin- 
gaiahed, and with its conclusions of fact drawn from indisputa- 
ble evidence, is such a terrible arraignment of the Government of 
Spain as must cause every patriotic heart to throb with fervent 
heat at the indignities suffered by the United States and every 
Christian soul to stand appalled at the unprecedented cruelty and 
inhumanity of the long-continued, frantic, and futile efforts to 
subdue a liberty-loving people. 

1 had hoped, although almost against hope, that a peaceful solu- 
tion might be had of all our difftculties. 1 believe the President, 
in the trying situation i)resented, has acted with a patriotism, a 
wisdom, a moderation, and a patience that will fully commend 
his course to the sober, candid, and honest judgment of the Amer- 
ican people; but I felt in my heart, Mr. President, when our bat- 
tle ship went down in Havana Harbor, that all hope of such an 
adjustment was at an end. 

Mr. President, as the evidence accumtilated, under careful and 
honest investigation, that the loss of our sailors was due to the 
direct criminal action of Spain or to her equally criminal negli- 
gence, the diplomacy of the world could have accomplished nothing. 
I most heartily indorse the President for his efforts to secure a 
peaceful solution. I as fully indorse and commend his course in 
remitting the whole matter to Congress when it became apparent 
that further diplomacy would be futile. 

Mr. President, I have no wish nor time to discuss the Cuban 
question i^roper, nor to go into detail of the miserable condition 
of that most unhappy island. Others in this Chamber have drawn 
pictures from personal observation, frona well-authenticated facts, 
and from undisputed conditions, that leads us to wonder if, after 
all, there is such a thing as Christian civilization on God's earth 
after two thousand years of Christian teaching; and, Mr. Presi- 
dent, the half has not been told, and, as is stated in the report of 
the committee, even Turkey, " who, abominable and atrocious as 
her cruelty has been toward her subjects in Greece and in the 
northern part of her dominions in Europe, has not approached 
the eminence at which Spain stands in solitary and unapproach- 
able infamy." 

The Committee on Foreign Relations, in making up its judg- 
ment as set forth in the resolution and report, has very properly, 
it seems to me, seen fit to go over the entire ground of our rela- 
tions with Cuba and Spain. Such a course I believe to be a wise 
one; and yet, Mr. President, in my judgment the insufferable 
conditions that have prevailed in Ciiba for three years, without 
mention of the Maine, of which I desire to speak later, would 
justify Congress in the course which I believe it will take; and 
leaving out of the question all such statements of inhuman condi- 
tions as have not been fully proven, still a case of perfect justifi- 
cation is made that denaands prompt and decisive action. 

No matter whether the ground of broad humanity is taken or 
whether we look only to the rights of Americans and the outrages 
on American citizenship, our duty is equally clear. I hope, Mr. 
President, the time may come when our citizenship shall be as we 
now sometimes falsely boast it is — the perfect guaranty of per- 
sonal and property security the world over. I believe the time 
is now opportune. 1 have no disposition, Mr. President, to give 
32i2 



aught but praise to those efforts which have released the citizens 
of this nation from foreign diangeons. 

Thank God for an Americanism that under conditions as they 
have esisted could accomplish that much; may it be but a fore- 
runner of a governmental firmness of policy that shall make the 
flag of our nation omnipotent to protect our citizenship the world 
over. But, Mr. President, though prison doors have opened, 
there are other wrongs to be righted. The eloquent, distinguished, 
and patriotic junior Senator from Indiana has said in this Cham- 
ber dui-ing this debate that "not an American citizen is to-day 
imprisoned on Spanish soil." 

Mr. President, I thank God if such is the fact, but I can not 
lose sight of the other more potent fact that many an American 
citizen lies to-day imprisoned in Spanish soil, victims of national 
hate and official vindictiveuess, rotted in dungeons or sentenced 
to death by star-chamber proceedings or drum-head courts- 
martial. All in all, such a violation of national rights is made up 
by the record as is seldom found in the history of the world, and 
all this without thought or word of excuse, regret or apology 
from Spain. 

But, Mr. President, the crowning infamy of Spain was reached 
when, in the darkness of night, on the 15th of February, by her 
agencies, our noble ship was blown from the face of the seas and 
206 of her officers and crew were ushered, unshriven and without 
a prayer or farewell, into the presence of theii- Maker. God pity 
the soul and the nation that could compass such a deed. Such an 
act can not be settled by diplomatic correspondence nor treated 
by any tribunal of arbitration, the learned and eloquent Senator 
from California to the contrary notvnthstanding. There is but 
one remedy, and would to God that remedy could restore to our 
country and to their wives and sweethearts our naval heroes who 
so miserably perished. That remedy is justice, swift, sure, and 
complete. 

There may be some who doubt the criminal responsibility of 
Spain. I am not one of them. Eminent lawyers on this floor say 
the guilt is not conclusively fixed. Mr. President, I would not 
assume to match my legal acquirements against some of na- 
tional reputation who have taken that position in this debate. I 
have been a lawyer only in a sort of a way. But I have be&n a 
prosecuting attorney, years ago, in a new country, upon the 
frontier, where crimes were then frequent and where juries were 
inclined to fully obey the instructions of the court, to " give the 
defendant the benefit of all reasonable doubt; " and, Mr. Presi- 
dent, in my judgment, upon the evidence of our court of inquiry, 
to which we are fully committed, and by which we must be bound, 
in connection with other evidence produced, which has not been 
and which can not be disputed, there is no impartial jury on the 
face of the earth that would not find a man guilty of murder in 
the first degree upon evidence of like character in an ordinary 
court ot justice. 

I believe the evidence shows not only guilt beyond all reason- 
able doubt, but guilt beyond all and any doubt. I can not go into 
the minute evidence of this transaction at the present time. It is 
unnecessary to do so, and a minute discussion would be both unde- 
sirable and unprofitable, even if time permitted. There are two 
things, Mr. President, that are said to reach nearly to infallibility, 
and these are the intuition of a good woman and the general 
dZi2 



opinion and conclusions of a great and a just nation, and the be- 
lief of this Republic to-day is that Spain destroyed the 31a ine and 
should be held responsible for the act, and, my word for it, if war 
shall come, the battle cry on sea and land will be "Remember the 
Maine!" This belief of the people is perfectly rational and is 
drawn from the well-known facts in the case. 

Our ship, on a friendly visit in a Spanish harbor, was anchored 
by Spanish officials over a Spanish mine, placed there by Spanish 
authority; and the vessel and crew were destroyed either by Span- 
ish authority direct or by Spanish negligence equally criminal. 
The conclusion is irresistible to the general mind, and in the gen- 
eral mind only, unaccustomed to specious nicety of hairsplitting 
as to conclusiveness of evidence, do we find the true conclusions. 

Mr. President, in this connection I desire to read a portion of a 
letter received by me but a few days ago from a citizen of my own 
State, who lives 2,000 miles from the Atlantic seacoast and G,000 
feet above sea level, and who is not consequently hampered in his 
reasoning by the doubts and fears that seem to create so much 
disturbance in the minds of some who have their being nearer 
the tide water of New York Bay. This gentleman is a graduate 
of our Naval Academy, afterwards a lawyer of wide practice, 
and now one of the most efficient as well as one of the most con- 
servative judges upon the trial bench of our intermountain courts, 
Judge Scott, of the district court of the first district of Wyoming. 
With onljf the testimony of our naval board of inquiry before 
him, he brings to the consideration of the question his technical 
knowledge acquired at our Naval Academy and the severe proc- 
esses of his judicial mind and arrives at the conchisions expressed 
in his letter of April 8, a portion of which I desire to read. He 
says: 

I have read the evidence and studied the exhibits in the light of my early 
education and later training, and I confess that while the report is not as 
full and complete as I would wish, yet I am forced to but one conclusion, and 
that is that the Spanish Government is responsible in any view of the case. 
The evidence conclusively shows that the first blow received by the ship was 
from the outside and must have been from some very powerful agent to havo 
forced the keel up through the ship, as shown by the exhibit, while the 
second explosion from the reserve magazine was the immediate cause of the 
destruction of so many lives. These facts being established, it seems to me 
to be an easy problem to solve. 

No one can say that the mine which caused the destruction of the ship 
could have been placed in that position without the knowledge of the agents 
or officers of the Spanish Government. It was a harbor over which that gov- 
ernment had jurisdiction and absolute control, and a mine in that position 
coiild only be there for one lawful purpose, and that for the national defense. 
It is apparent that time fuses could not be used with these engines of de- 
struction. It must, therefore, have been exploded by wire properly con- 
nected with the mine and an electrical generator conveniently placed, and the 
connection of the circuit made by key when the Maine swung into position 
to receive the full force of the blow from the explosion of the mine. 

The position of the Maine as she swung at her anchorage and the place of 
the mine at the time of the explosion, or rather its position with reference to 
the Maine at the time of the explosion, imparts a knowledge to the one who 
completed the circuit or manipulated the kevboard of the exact position, re- 
spectively, of the mine and the ship. That it was tigured down to a mathe- 
matical certainty is evidenced from the fact that the full force of the explo- 
sion was received on the keel of the Maine. This was not the work of a 
novice. It was the work of an expert, thoroughly versed in that art of war- 
fare. The mine and the mechanism for using it must have been Government 
property and under the control of the Government and its employees, for no 
one else could or would have been allowed to place it there, thus endanger- 
mg the free navigation of the harbor by merchantmen and other ships fre- 
quentmg the harbor, and, as stated above, it would have been unlawfullv 
there for any other purpose than for the national defense. 



» J^i^^'' ^i^^.Y^^ exploded by the officers in charge of the same, or if it was 

ofl^i? hiV IJ'l''' fT%''l: '^ ^'"^^ ^" *°^ «f ^'^^ yP^""** Government OnThI 
other hand, If exploded by some one without their knowledge or consent 

eun rmv\^?.d^wr''^* *' ^^'^^ ^''^^^^? °^ ^^"^ principle that iPl set a sprTng 
i^^wi ^J -^l^-^^' whereby my neignbor is shot and killed, I am criminally 
liable I think our citizens ought to be protected in every port on theface of 
the globe, and that whether they wear the uniform of a sailor or soldfer or 
are m civilian-s dress The Maine was on a lawful mission, securely an 

w«s fn r./i'f.^^'^^T °^ ^ "^""^"^ 7'^^ ^^^-^ ^« ^«re at peace. That nation 
was m duty bound to so govern her citizens that the lives and property of 
onr citizens would be safe. If it actively through its officers and a-ents as- 
sassinated our citizens, or tacitly consented to, ornegligently permitted such 
«en'i^^l°fn!i'"'' '* ^?T*^*° P'^*^^^ ""^ ^^'^''^^e'- <^^"se for war could ever be pre 
sented, and especially so m this case where the means of such assassination 
must have been m the very nature of things the property of Spain. "'"''""'' 

And, Mr. President, the conclusion of Judge Scott is the con- 
cliisiou of the American people, and to that conclusion, formed 
not m haste but after a careful and honest consideration of aU 
the well-known facts in the case, I believe this Senate, by the vote 
shortly to be taken, will give its full answer. Mr. President, the 
bond question is raised, but the time has long passed since I have 
considered this question from a money standpoint. We are warned 
by Senators, m private at least, that by our action we are possibly 
creating a national liability of our own for four hundred millions 
of Spanish bonds, to the payment of which the revenues of Cuba 
stand pledged, or an indefinite amount of Cuban bonds, which 
we might be held responsible for. 

Mr. President, to me this question has passed beyond the matter 
ot bonds into the broader and, as I think, more patriotic field of 
national honor. The question of responsibilitv or nonliability for 
bonds enters not my mind, nor does it disturb me in the least in 
the consideration of this question. The time for financial petti- 
fogging IS passed. It cost us a third of a century ago three thou- 
sand million dollars to preserve the integrity of the union of these 
btates. I am willing now to devote, if necessary, three thousand 
milhons to preserve the honor of the nation. It is a burden that 
may perchance rest upon the shoulders of our children and our 
children's children, but if American patriotism still lives, it is a 
burden they will gladly accept and honestly discharge; and in 
this statement I believe I voice the sentiment and the patriotism 
and rightly interpret the great heart of this Republic. 

Mr. President, war is the court of last resort. Woe to that 
nation that has not a righteous cause. The great captain of Eu- 
rope uttered an atrocious fallacy when he said, " God is on the 
side of the strongest battalions. " All history disproves the utter- 
ance. God IS ever on the side of the right, and in this coming con- 
test we are m the right. We stand for freedom of peoples and for 
republican government, for free institutions and national honor, 
and in the trying days that are upon us the American people, hav- 
ing a just knowledge of their responsibilitv and a full apprecia- 
tion of their duties, will have but one watchword: "Remember 
humanity: remember the Maine." And to this they will add the 
fervent and confident prayer, "May God speed the right." 
3313 



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